Why India Is Obsessed With Black Magic & How Its Consequences Can't Be Ignored

India's varied and diverse culture does make it more ineffable to understand most of the cultural practices that take place, for most of the people residing here. We could call India a progressive society, but there are moments of weakness experienced by subservient people across the board, who use archaic ways to find and bring happiness into their lives.

We are all emotional beings and if we didn't have a sane mind in place, we would always be driven by our emotions. Most times, we question logic but when logic fails to give us rational answers, we turn to other realms of reality, for stability and the satisfaction of our own ego. Once we turn the other way and defy logic, it's easier for external influences to seep through and justify our general inquisitiveness.

All I am trying to say is, sometimes our emotions allow influences to mould us in ways which seem more comfortable and we get carried away with such things.

Black magic and occult practices are such things, that take us far away from reality to form a comfortable nest in our own mind. Black magic is an art that feeds on people's insecurities and leads them through blind faith, to find hope and allegiance with something, that is way beyond their realm of understanding.

I am not here to criticise the practice in any way or form. I am here to give a third person's neutral perspective on what this art entails and if there is any science to justify these practices.

In the recent Burari (New Delhi) case, we saw this practice unfold and take shape of a dark entity, which ultimately led to the death of the 11 members of a happy Delhi based family (or so what it seemed). But knowing the ground reality to such practices is a different thing altogether. The family indulged in dark art practices or black magic to attain salvation from 'worldly problems'. But that's the problem with society today; the fairly elaborate escapist view they have about life.

What Is Black Magic?

We live in a dual world. By that I mean, there is always a duality in everything we see, hear, understand and do. For instance, there is good and evil, happiness and sadness and, of course, light and dark. The understanding of all the negatives out of this duality and using that negativity to one's advantage to possibly cause others harm, through cultish practices is what black magic really is.

Black magic is conducive to all negative forces, which become easier to control when you're practicing these dark arts. Lots of occult practices which delve into black magic, worship or believe in the existence of the devil and it's variants like demons, evil spirits, and dark entities.

The exuberant control of this form of magic is said to be phenomenal. If you're a victim of this practice or have it done to you, then it is believed, it takes a certain amount of time to rid the effect it can have on you. And most of the time, the effect is negative. The people who indulge in this vicarious form of darkness, usually do it to fix their own problems and pave a smoother way for themselves and for their future.

Quick Fix?

I met a woman once who used this practice often for her own good and welfare. I am not sure if she was harming any other being but she would worship a dark entity just to get ahead in her career. According to her, irrational thinking propels such people to opt for these practices and that's what she was doing. She would ritualistically do certain things daily to make small changes in her life. Sometimes they worked but she believed to never tamper with the art, if it didn't work, because chances are it can backfire miserably.

But we're a superstitious lot. We're afraid to face consequences emerging out of our own reality and we love to shield our problems through an alternative mean. For example, visiting a family pundit has become a norm in most families. The pundit will probably read your Janam Patri and ask you to do certain things differently, which are beneficial for the future. Maybe he'll ask you to wear particular stones to evade the grasp of darkness upon you.

"I went to a family pundit when I came back from studying abroad. My mother forced me to go see him, to figure my future out job wise. He studied my kundli (birth chart) and said I would have some difficulties adjusting here but I will find a great job within 2 months and will be very comfortable. He also asked me to wear a topaz on my middle finger for prosperity. It's been almost 8 months now and I haven't found a decent job yet. It's all rubbish if you don't believe in it." - Rahul (name changed).

Well, not digressing from the main subject, but eventually it boils down to whether or not you believe in things like these, to even give them the fair benefit of the doubt. Only when times are tough, people opt for such alternatives, to get them out of their fallible misery.

Psychological Manipulation?

The two words may sound heavy and impactful but if you delve deeper into what they mean, you will understand the underlying crux of people easily falling for these practices and blind faiths, all around the world.

Someone who is going through a tough time in life is mostly emotionally weak and vulnerable. It's because people tend to use their heart and their mind to resolve issues that surround them Occult practices prey on emotionally weak and psychologically withdrawn people to garner restoration of this particular faith.

It's easier to seep into their psyche and drive them towards believing in practices that can help them recover from their suffering. The phenomena can loosely be termed as 'blind faith' and once you're in it, it's difficult to get out.

"My friend is a cult follower of a sect that worships the dark arts. I know that because she took me to one of their gatherings once and everyone had to wear black and chant something rhythmic, which didn't sound good to the ears. I pretended to be interested but honestly, I was freaking out. But that's not all. I saw that people were blindly following a tantric baba there and doing whatever he asked them to do, in the name of faith. It seemed dark and unhealthy to me" - Sakshi (name changed)

The only solution is to strengthen your mind through various other means to not let negative practices influence you on a psychological or a physiological level!

Where Is The Reasoning?

A certain amount of logic and reasoning is required to carry on the day to day activities and deal with problems from all spheres, but when it comes to believing in black magic, all reasoning takes back seat and uncertainty circles the spheres. Why do I say that? For the simple reason that black magic or any occult practice reaffirms the fact that if a professional can't solve the problem, these practices will.

“The practitioners of black magic are at times more trusted than a doctor. They treat jaundice, dog, snake or scorpion bites with chants, instead of medicine.” says the very qualified Dr. Singh, who works in a government hospital.

One must remember that there have been advancements made in science that define logic to overpower any cushioned belief, that are assumed to set your problems free. Most of these practices are unlawful and if they aren't monitored how they're supposed to, they can go terribly wrong.

Is Black Magic Illegal In India?

Yes, the practice of black magic is illegal in India and there is an anti-superstition & black magic act and it goes by the name of 'Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and other Inhuman, Evil and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Act, 2013', where practicing such arts is termed illegal and one can go to jail for it.

The bill is criticised for being anti-religion but people also debate about how it's the other side to religion, which does more harm than good. That's why these practices are done behind closed doors, and very few people are privy to these happenings, which do occur on a daily basis.

I don't know if black magic really exists or if it's done for the betterment or harm or if it's even a trusted ritual to bank all our hopes on. But all I know is that, good and evil do exist and so does light and dark, and the human ability to determine the difference between the two is fairly clear and recognisable. We may delve into dark arts to find answers that we can't seek otherwise or to propel our own growth but everything comes at a cost, and sometimes it's difficult to pay the cost of something that's clearly misunderstood or ineffable.

I am not saying don't understand what black magic is, but try and see the better side to it, so you never have to tread into the dark. That is why wise people always said 'there is always light at the end of the tunnel'.